ISI chief gets extension

[ajpirzada]

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani on Tuesday granted a one-year extension in service to Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha – making him the fourth such beneficiary in recent months, according to official sources.

Pasha – who was scheduled to retire from service on March 18 – would now continue serving the Pakistan Army as a lieutenant general and the ISI chief for another year.

Having replaced Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, Pasha has been heading the country’s premier intelligence service since October 2008. Before being promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and assuming charge of the top ISI office, Pasha served as the Military Operations director general.

Born in 1952, Pasha has had a distinguished career, spanning more than 30 years, in the Pakistan Army. He has commanded an infantry division, a mechanised infantry brigade and an infantry battalion, and served as the chief instructor of the Command and Staff College of the Pakistan Army. From 2001 to
2002, Pasha also served as a contingent and sector commander with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone.

He is the fourth general to be given an extension in service by the current army chief over the last few months. The other beneficiaries are Lt Gen Tanvir Tahir, Lt Gen Masood Alam and Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal.

Under army rules, a major general retires on reaching the age of 57, while a lieutenant general retires either on reaching the age of 58 or completing a four-year tenure – whichever falls first. Under the principle, if a major general is promoted as a lieutenant general at the age of 56, the retirement falls after two years at the age of 58. Likewise, if promotion as a lieutenant general comes at the age of 52, the retirement falls at the age of 56.

It is believed that the decision to extend Pasha’s service has been made to ensure the continuity of the army’s operations against militancy. During Pasha’s tenure as the ISI director general, the army has conducted three successful operations and flushed out terrorists from Swat, South Waziristan and Bajaur. An operation in Orakzai Agency is now on the cards, while the army is also gradually augmenting a build up in North Waziristan.

The successful operations and the recent arrests of high-profile al Qaeda and Taliban commanders are considered by the West a significant turnaround in ISI policies.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[sonicboom]

United States officials also seem to be convinced that Pasha's boss, army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, should stay in his position if recent gains against the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban are to be continued.

Kayani is set to retire later this year, but it is not clear yet if he will receive or accept an extension, or whether he will step aside. If he does step aside, Pasha would be a leading candidate to succeed him.

United States officials admit their relationships with Kayani and Pasha – whom they have known for decades – have been mixed. But lately, the officials seem convinced that both men are committed to fighting the Taliban, and seem to want both to remain in place.

Kayani is among the last senior Pakistani army generals to have received training in the United States before American sanctions cut the training off.

Many subsequent Pakistani army officers went to Saudi Arabia for training, and the United States officials are worried that lower-level officers are deeply skeptical of fighting what many Pakistanis view as "America's war" against the Taliban.

United States military and diplomatic officials in the region say their relationship with Kayani has improved thanks to constant face-to-face meetings with many senior American officials, but especially with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the head of international forces in Afghanistan, who regularly travels to Pakistan.

In recent months, the Pakistani army has launched offensives against Taliban strongholds in Swat Valley and South Waziristan. A barrage of U.S. drone attacks have scored significant hits on Taliban leaders, and several top militants have been captured. Kayani will travel to Washington later this month.

Head of Pakistan's Spy Agency Gets Term Extended - ABC News

 

[pakistanguide]

General Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha One Best Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director World........

 

[air marshal]

PM gives 1-year extension to DG ISI

ISLAMABAD, Mar 10 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has given one-year extension to Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha as Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) with effect from the date of his retirement, a PM House statement said on Wednesday.